Squaring the Circle
by Zarah5
Summary: It’s not as if asking Lily out has ever proven successful, right? So James might as well give up. Give up asking her out, that is. And thus begins a tale that really doesn’t pretend to be more than a cute little love story. [LilyJames, Marauders, Snape]
1. I, Sunday, September 1st, 1977

**Author:** Zarah

**Pairing:** Lily Evans/James Potter

**Rating:** PG-13

**Thanks to:** Loony Moony, for betaing this little thing despite her misgivings concerning the pairing.

**Note:** This isn't my first fanfiction story, not by a long shot, but it's the first James/Lily I've written in ages. It's probably not a wise move to post it so close to the release of the sixth book, but if the Half-Blood Prince includes startling new revelations concerning the relationship of Harry's parents, I'll just label this story slightly AU, or some such.

**Summary:** It's not as if asking Lily out has ever proven successful, right? So James might as well give up. Give up asking her out, that is. And thus begins a tale that really doesn't pretend to be more than a cute little love story. Well, possibly not all that cute. Or little, for that matter. So, a love story. (Lily/James)

**Disclaimer:** Many of the following characters are borrowed from the marvellous Joanne Keane Rowling, but for entertainment purposes only. No money is being made from this story. All characters shall be returned unscathed, except for Sirius who'll be locked in a tower so as to keep him far away from all things that even remotely resemble a curtain.

* * *

**Squaring the Circle**

**I. Sunday, September 1st, 1977**

* * *

**squaring the circle**: 1. one of the three classical problems in Greek mathematics which  
were extremely influential on the development of geometry;  
2. figuratively: to attempt the impossible.

* * *

It had taken him three years, and if that was an embarrassingly long time, so be it. James had never quite understood the need of some girls to analyse their self-esteem to death. Besides, it had become something of a tradition, as Sirius never tired of pointing out. 

Sharing his newly acquired knowledge with his friends, however, didn't seem to have quite the effect James had been aiming for.

"Quick learner, aren't you?" was Remus' less-than-satisfying response. The sarcasm was impossible to miss, but where Sirius would insert a healthy dose of mockery, Remus still managed to sound fondly exasperated.

"Oh," Peter said, and then, "yes, well. You're probably right." His face was searching for an appropriate expression, and failed.

"But it's tradition!" Sirius protested, predictably.

"Yes," James said. "And it's obviously _not working_. So, I'm dropping it."

"Just like that?" Remus asked.

"After three years?" Peter asked

"It's _tradition_," Sirius repeated sadly.

* * *

Peter's chocolate frog was winning. James' had exploded against the train window two compartments down; Sirius' had reached the ground, but managed to stay in the air for only two seconds compared to Peter's four. Remus hadn't joined the competition, instead opting to dissect his own frog slowly and carefully while James, Sirius and Peter crowded around the window. 

It was, James supposed, a wink of fate that Lily chose to push the door to their compartment open just as James was about to release his second frog. Shame he'd dropped Divination and thus didn't know what fate was trying to tell him.

He tried to hide the frog behind his back, but his hair was wind-blown, and he knew, he just _knew_ he wore the expression that belonged to childhood memories of being caught with one hand in the cookie jar. His mum had always seen right through the innocent front, and while James had managed to perfect his part-guilty, part-charming smile since then, Lily never fell for any of his smiles. Which, of course, was part of the problem.

Lily glanced at the hand hidden behind James' back, glanced at James' face and raised an eyebrow. "Ah. So my guess was correct."

"Your guess?" James intensified the force of his smile and threw a quick glare in the general direction of his friends: Sirius had his chin propped on the palm of his hand, looking just like he did when waiting for a Quidditch game to start, while Peter was looking from Lily to James to Lily. Even Remus had abandoned his analysis of the remaining frog leg for the time being.

Lily's expression didn't change. "The chocolate frog that just splattered against our window. Jen said it was Black's, Alice said Amos Diggory."

"_Diggory_?" Sirius put in, sounding scandalized at the comparison.

"He drops stuff all the time," Lily said. She turned back to look at James, and the Head Girl badge that was pinned to the front of her robe caught a ray of sunlight. "You just won me a butterbeer from the girls, so thanks."

"Uh, yeah. You're welcome." James shifted and was proud that he didn't offer to pay for another one. He'd never live it down if his resolve lasted a whole twenty minutes. His credibility was on the line, so… So.

Lily looked surprised for a blink of an eye, her eyes narrowing in thought. Then she nodded and turned to leave, pausing just before sliding the door closed. "Oh, and Potter?"

"Yes?" James asked. It came out a bit too quickly, a bit too eagerly.

"Introductory meeting with the Prefects in ten minutes. Don't be late." Her eyes slid over him. "And I suggest you change into your uniform." A soft click accompanied the closing of the door, and James tried to remember just why he wanted her. Because he was a masochist, possibly.

"So, James." Remus was smirking at the frog leg. "Do tell. That sudden decision not to ask Lily out again, after three years of being shot down. Did you make it before or after you knew you'd have quite a number of meetings with her this year, even without having to ask?"

"Should have known she'd be the girl to your Head Boy. Did I tell you yet how disappointed I am in you?" Sirius asked.

"Once or twice." James' uniform smelled faintly of apples and lavender. He sighed and got his wand out to undo his mother's work, briefly looking up at Sirius. "Once or twice every two minutes, that is."

"Good." Sirius' lips twisted into a satisfied smile. "Is it too late for you to decline?"

"No."

"What are you waiting for, then?"

"For it to _be_ too late."

"Traitor. Didn't I give you anything you ever asked for?" Sirius' expression changed into one of hurt. "All the pranks you suggested, all those trips to the kitchen, our very first firewhiskey…"

Oh, yes. That. They'd woken up with aching heads on the bed in the Shrieking Shack, the one Remus used after his transformations. A note in Remus' cramped writing had been placed on the pillow, laughing obnoxiously when James picked it up. _Told you half a glass would have been enough_, it said. Somehow, they'd never quite gotten around to killing Remus, as they'd planned when the pain-inducing laughter wouldn't stop even after they'd torn up the note.

James smiled at the memory, rooting through his bag for the badge. It was hidden beneath the current issue of _Balls and Brooms_, and he pulled it out with a flourish. Sirius watched him, the hurt expression still very much in effect. He leaned forward to clutch James' hand. "I can change, James! I can! More rule-breaking, less detentions, just say the word!"

"Fat chance," Remus muttered, while James reached out to pat Sirius' hair.

"It's not you, Sirius. It's me."

"Oh, well." This seemed to satisfy Sirius. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and batting his lashes. "You're not going to deduct any points from _me_, though, are you?"

"Only when you deserve it." James grinned as he buttoned up his robe. "Which is pretty much all the time."

"Aw, c'mon, James," Sirius cajoled. "A healthy dose of pranks against Snape hasn't hurt–" He cut himself off abruptly, followed by a guilty glance in Remus' direction, and just like that, the light mood twisted and tripped over itself. Remus, for his part, sighed and watched the landscape that flew by outside the window.

It had been like this ever since he'd finally accepted Sirius' apology over the summer; Sirius treating Remus with uncharacteristic caution and Remus reacting with silence. James was almost glad to leave for the Prefects meeting.

* * *

Strands of hair had escaped Lily's hair tie, and James looked away. He didn't think she'd take well to him reaching out and brushing it out of her face. Neither would McGonagall, for that matter. Her efficient strides were eating up the distance to her office as she explained the duties that came with their new positions. There were far too many, for James' liking. Even Lily started to look slightly apprehensive. 

"…rounds, of course. You'll have to work out schedules for the Prefects to work in teams of two. Especially these days, we don't want any children out at night, wandering the castle alone." Face shadowed, McGonagall pushed the door to her office open. James had never seen looking as close to scared as in that brief moment just before her hand closed around the door handle. "Nothing has happened at Hogwarts yet," she said, and her voice had regained its usual sternness, "and we want to keep it that way."

"We will," James said. Lily glanced at him, and he wondered if she'd caught the fear, too.

"Yes." She sounded determined, meeting James' gaze for less than a second before she turned her attention back to McGonagall. The dim light inside the office made her eyes seem nearly black.

"Well, we can only hope you're right." McGonagall frowned at the neat stack of parchment scrolls on her desk. With a flick of her wand, she called two scrolls into her hand and passed them on to James, who handed one to Lily. "This is the list of your obligations, as I just explained them to you. I trust you to honour your position and set an example for the rest of the student body." At this, her eyes seemed to linger on James. "This is my first time as Head of Gryffindor House to have two of my students in this position. Don't prove Johnson right by not doing your job as well as you can. He's been entirely too smug about the many Slytherin Head Boys and Girls in recent years."

James privately thought that any chance to irritate Johnson, Defence Against the Dark Arts professor as well as Head of Slytherin, was quite an incentive. McGonagall was either trying to manipulate him, or she held the same dislike for the white-haired man who took points from Gryffindor with an enthusiasm he otherwise only showed when talking about vampires and Slytherin wins of the House cup.

"Not if I can help it." James gave her his best charming smile. Next to him, Lily snorted, but nodded all the same.

McGonagall returned the smile, and it made her look her actual age instead of the usual sixty-something years. "All right, then. In that case, off with you to your common room. I expect your report by the end of next week."

"Certainly, Professor," James said cheerfully, mostly because he knew how much it would unsettle Lily.

As soon as they were out of earshot, she rounded on him. "Don't think I'm going to do that report by myself, Potter. You better have some input, and _good_ input, at that."

"Certainly, Evans." James bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning. It was just too easy. Now all he needed was to find out the buttons to _improve_ her mood.

Lily studied him for a silent moment. "Stop smirking at me," she ordered then.

"Certainly, Evans," James repeated, turning his head to grin at the portrait of Joshua the Jovial instead. Out of the corners of his eyes, he saw her grimace, but thought that maybe, just maybe there was something close to a smile underneath.

"If you don't do your bit," she said, "I'll try out some of the hexes I learned this summer."

"Magic over the holidays?" James raised both eyebrows. "Evans, you surprise me." And while baiting her might not be the best course of action, at least it made talking to her easier. When he asked her out, she rarely graced him with more than half a minute of her time.

"I only studied the theory." Her grin was vaguely frightening. "Which is why I look forward to testing them."

"Uh, right." Maybe baiting _really_ wasn't the best course of action. James cast around for a topic that was, well, less likely to get him hexed, in all honesty. Lily was rumoured not to react too well to provocation. James should know; he was one of the main characters in a good number of the stories. Some of them were true, even. "So, how was your summer, then? Apart from studying, I mean."

Apparently, that hadn't been a good choice of question. Her face clouded. "Depends."

"On what?" Together, they stepped onto the staircase that led from the statue of Humphrey the Hunchback on the second floor up to the Charms classroom on the third. A moment too late, James remembered that this was not such a good idea: The combination of Sunday, after nine in the evening and two people meant that…

Yes, exactly. Meant that the staircase would rearrange itself to lead down to the Potions classroom in the dungeons instead.

Lily muttered a word James hadn't thought she knew, much less used. "_What_?" she asked, tone exasperated, once she'd noticed him staring.

"Nothing." He faced forward again and shook his head in amusement. "Absolutely nothing. You were telling me about your summer?"

She looked at him suspiciously, then shrugged and set off down the corridor. Torches flickered as they passed, swayed by the breeze. "Actually, I was distinctly _not_ telling you about my summer."

"Come on, Evans." James used much the same tone Sirius had used on him earlier, when he'd tried to charm James into a friendly no-points-taking deal. "It's a long way up, so entertain me with tales of your amazing life!"

Her expression was sceptical. "Why do you even want to know?" And this, James supposed, was the perfect opportunity to get in her good graces. Show her he cared, show her he was interested, was…

His mind came up with a glorious blank as to what to say.

"Thought so." Lily sounded both smug and… disappointed? Annoyed? "And if you're that desperate for entertainment, we can always go over your duties as Head Boy. Just so you don't forget anything."

James tried to imagine kissing Sharon Knowles; Jessica Sherbany; Alissa Jingston. Any of them would be much more open to his advances than Lily had ever been. And yet… "No, I'm fine," James said, releasing a frustrated breath. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Suit yourself. You're welcome to tell me about your summer, though." She shrugged and turned the corner into the corridor leading to the closest staircase; it didn't sound as if she cared one way or another. James decided to see it as encouragement regardless.

"It was good, mostly. Sirius has his own place now, but he still came over for dinner most of the time because he doesn't know how to cook. We charmed the neighbour's roses to sing the Song of the Drunken Dragon Breeder. Turned out she quite liked the effect."

"Magic over the holidays?" Lily looked unimpressed as she quoted his words back at him. "You don't surprise me, Potter."

"Well, dad works for the Ministry, so there are protections 'round our house." James watched Lily's fingers slide over the bars of the banister, her nails creating a soft, rhythmic clicking sound.

She looked thoughtful. "How come Black has his own place?"

"A difference of opinion with his family." James wasn't sure how much to reveal about this – although Lily couldn't have missed that Sirius wasn't overly fond of Bellatrix and Regulus, both of them proud Slytherins – one past, one present.

"Why?" Lily asked.

_Because they're bloody bastards who wouldn't hesitate to sell their own son to the highest bidder, if Voldemort told them to._ "Differences," James repeated. Why was it that the one time Lily seemed interested in something he had to say, friendship forbade him to reveal too much? "In short, they think wizards should treat Muggles as an inferior form of life, and Sirius doesn't."

"Oh." She was quiet for the time it took them to reach the second floor, apparently mulling this over. "You wouldn't think it, looking at him," she said eventually. "That he has any cares in the world, I mean. It can't have been easy."

"Well, just because he enjoys a good prank doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings," James said with slightly more force than he'd intended to. Once the words were out, he wasn't sure if he was still talking about Sirius.

Slowly, Lily shook her head. "Maybe not." A pause. "It's still what you see if you don't know him better, though."

"I guess," James admitted. The quiet sound of shuffling feet caught his attention, just around the corner to their left. He exchanged a glance with Lily: No student was allowed outside the common room this late. _Damn_, James thought with faint amusement, _someone sure was trying to start this year's rule-breaking bright and early_.

He'd expected to see one of the older kids; Connelly maybe, or the oldest Weasley, possibly even Sirius, although they'd made it a deal that Sirius would do at least half of the things that could cost him points out of James' sight. Instead, James found his gaze lowering, and lowering, and lowering, until it finally settled on a boy James vaguely remembered from the Sorting. Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff?

Their arrival seemed to startle him out of some trance, and he stopped staring fearfully at the moving staircases to stare fearfully at them instead. He looked lost, and probably was.

"Hello," Lily said gently. James deemed it highly unfair that all this boy had to do was stand there and look scared, and Lily would treat him with a kindness she'd never shown James. Highly, highly unfair. Something was obviously wrong with the world, or maybe just with Lily.

"Are you lost?" Lily asked, and the boy nodded while James crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What's your name?"

"Colin Dowry," was the quiet reply, and Colin's eyes seemed to lose some of their fear.

"I'm Lily, and this is James. We're the Heads this year." She smiled. _Unfair_, James' brain chanted, while he also listened to the way his first name fell off Lily's lips. She should say it more often. "What House did the Hat choose for you?" Lily asked.

Colin looked at her with something akin to awe. "Hufflepuff," he said, and James barely managed to suppress a snort. Figured, that.

"Hmm." With a thoughtful expression, she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "I have to admit that I don't know where your common room is." Sudden turn. "James?"

"Yes?" James asked stupidly.

Lily raised a brow, but – presumable because of the company – didn't say anything. "Do you know where the Hufflepuff common room is?"

"Sure." He shrugged, then smiled first at Lily, then at Colin. After all, he owed the boy two pronouncements of his first name, and his mother had taught him not to be ungrateful. Her hexes were fairly effective.

"Why am I not surprised?" Lily muttered, but a small smile stole itself across her face regardless. To Colin, she said, "All right. Then James will take you to your common room, okay? And next time, make sure you don't lose the others."

Smirking, James placed a friendly arm around her shoulders, certain that she wouldn't resort to physical violence in front of Colin. Well, mostly certain. "You're not going to leave me alone, Lily, are you? Don't you remember what McGonagall said? No one should wander the castle alone at night."

"Oh, please. As if you even listened," she told him under her breath, too quietly for Colin to hear.

"I did," James said with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Right." Lily's voice held the sarcastic edge she seemed to reserve for James. Ducking out from under his arm, she gave Colin another smile. "Okay, Colin, we'll both accompany you to your common room."

"This way," James said, and it wasn't easy to stop his grin from showing. He didn't often win an argument with Lily.

* * *

Second chapter: Friday, September 6th, 1977. Written, but not edited. 


	2. II, Friday, September 6th, 1977

I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. However, I can truthfully say that _it wasn't me_! This chapter was finished weeks ago, but my beta's had some real life problems, and it's taken me a while (until now, obviously) to decide to post this chapter without her approval. I apologize for all mistakes in advance. I edited it to the best of my knowledge, but it's amazing how blind knowing a text really well can make you to its mistakes.

**Author:** Zarah

**Pairing:** Lily Evans/James Potter

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** It's not as if asking Lily out has ever proven successful, right? So James might as well give up. Give up asking her out, that is. And thus begins a tale that really doesn't pretend to be more than a cute little love story. Well, possibly not all that cute. Or little, for that matter. So, a love story. (Lily/James, with emphasis on the Marauder dynamic as well as their interaction with Snape)

**Disclaimer:** Many of the following characters are borrowed from the marvellous J.K. Rowling, but for entertainment purposes only. No money is being made from this story. All characters shall be returned unscathed, except for Sirius who'll be locked in a tower so as to keep him far away from all things that even remotely resemble a curtain.

* * *

**Squaring the Circle**

II. Friday, September 6th, 1977

* * *

Just James' luck that his last year as Gryffindor Quidditch captain had to start out with tryouts for not one or two, but _three_ positions on his team: a chaser, a beater and the keeper. The beater wasn't so hard; he'd had his eye on John Gersh since last winter, and after Sirius' had been banned from playing Quidditch, John had played both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw with them. It was mainly a matter of making it official, now that James had accepted that Sirius wouldn't be allowed to come back.

He still wasn't entirely sure he had.

For the keeper position, he'd have to talk to his chaser, Anna, about Joshua Huth, a fifth year who showed remarkable talent. However, Anna and Joshua had had a relationship some months ago that was rumoured to have ended with bad blood on both sides, and James wasn't about to jeopardize the team harmony.

As for the new chaser… It was a draw between Giuseppe of the unpronounceable Italian surname, and Lily's friend Alice Devon. Both seemed motivated enough, and while Giuseppe was a bit faster, Alice's passes were more accurate.

James searched the stands for a glimpse of red hair. Sure enough, Lily and Jennifer Whitewater were sitting on one of the highest benches, their faces turned skywards to watch Alice approach the left of the three hoops. She dodged Camelia Sent, another tryout for keeper, and scored. _Good aim_, James thought, nodding to himself. He dropped down to Lily's seat.

"Afternoon, Evans. Jennifer."

"Potter." Lily's expression was that of someone startled out of a pleasant dream. Next to her, Jennifer looked over and gave him a faint smile before concentrating on Alice's performance again.

"No need to sound quite so happy." Undaunted, James sat down by Lily's side, propping his broom against the banister and squinting to watch Alice against the brightness of the sun. "So, are you here to ogle my fine body?"

Lily snorted. "Hardly, Potter."

"Well, it was worth a try." He shrugged with something close to melancholy while Giuseppe sped past Anna and threw the Quaffle to Alice, who triumphed over Camelia once again. "Good, isn't she," James said to no one in particular. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Lily said. She turned her head. "Does that mean you'll give her the position?"

"I don't know. Giuseppe's quite good, too." With a frown, he watched Giuseppe overtake Alice and fly an elegant curve, then duck out of a bludger's way, robes flaring. It took James a few seconds to realize that Lily was staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing." She looked back at the sky, and James sighed.

"C'mon, Evans. _What_?"

"Nothing," she repeated.

He waited.

Lily glanced at him. "Aren't you going to offer me some kind of bargain? 'I'll do it if you go out with me,' or something like that?""

"Do you want me to?" James asked seriously.

"No!" Lily exclaimed. "Just surprised, that's all. A year ago, you'd have."

"Maybe." Shrugging, James looked up at the players once more. He supposed she was right, but April had changed many things, and besides, this was _Quidditch_. He wasn't about to let his team down. "I honestly don't know about Alice. Guess we'll have to invite both her and Giuseppe to a practice session, and then the team decides."

"How democratic of you." Lily's voice didn't reveal anything. A breeze stirred her hair, blowing single strands into her face, and she pushed them back behind her ears with an impatient gesture. She seemed to be doing that a lot, James thought.

"Evans?" he asked.

The sigh was many things: impatient, weary, cautious. "Yes?"

"How far did you get with your half of the report for McGonagall?"

Her face relaxed, and she turned to face him again. "Mostly done. I wanted to finish it tonight."

James nodded. He was careful not to make his next words sound as if he was asking her out. After all, that never worked. "Same here. How about we go over them together, so we can make sure they're all right? I'm not quite sure what McGonagall expects just yet."

She seemed to be studying his face for what seemed like half an eternity, and he was careful to keep his expression impassive and relaxed. "Yes," Lily said eventually, "all right. We can go over them tonight, when we're both finished."

* * *

Sirius had discovered that tapping his quill on the table resulted in a different noise than doing the same with his wand, so now he was trying to beat out a rhythm on the wood that combined the high, sharp thud of the quill and the slightly lower, darker sound of his wand.

James was about three beats from strangling him.

"Sirius," Remus said, without looking up from his essay for Herbology.

Low, low, high. "Yep?"

"_Some_ of us are trying to work."

"Yeah," Peter put in. "Someone tell me why I chose Muggle Studies as part of my N.E.W.T.s."

"Because it's easy. And also," James looked up from his report to glare at Sirius, "ditto. I have to give this to McGonagall tomorrow, and I'm still not quite sure what I'm supposed to write under 'Special Occurrences.'"

"I think Snape may have washed his hair over the summer." Sirius sounded unperturbed. "And you could always resign, Prongs."

Remus snorted from behind _Three-Thousand-And-Forty-Five Herbs That Don't Grow In Your Grandmother's Garden_. "Just give it up, Sirius. This could be James' one chance to show Lily that there's a decent human being underneath the obnoxious façade. Somewhere far underneath, that is. If she looks really, really hard."

"Thanks, Remus," James said dryly.

"My pleasure. Who better to tell you the uncomfortable truths about yourself than your friends?"

"With friends like these," James started, and Peter finished for him.

"…you won't need enemies anymore."

"Shut up and get to work," Sirius said. He'd actually gotten as far as opening his History of Magic book, and was staring fixedly at a painting of the Giant Wars. It was fascinating in a bloody, slightly revolting way.

"Goblin," Remus' quill was scratching over the parchment, "stop calling the Niffler gold-hungry, will you?"

"I think Remus is having his days before the day," Sirius told the room in general. The moon, three-quarter full, was peering in through the window, and both James and Remus glanced at it while Peter tried to work out the functions of something called a gramophone record. James leaned over the armrest of his chair to read the text below the picture.

_Muggles, especially younger ones, love music. A gramophone record, or record for short, is their way of carrying it with them wherever they go. Some of them also use records for a game that requires both speed and skill, and which consists of at least two Muggles throwing the rotating record back and forth over an increasing distance and in ways that makes catching it increasingly difficult._

"Sounds boring," James commented. "I prefer Quidditch any day."

Sirius' head lowered slightly, and James could hear him exhale on a sigh. "Yeah," he said, so quietly that only James and maybe Remus could catch it.

"James?" Remus' voice was dangerously sweet, and that alone made James sit up and draw his parchment nearer. "Do us all a favour and shut up, please. You wouldn't want to confirm Lily's worst suspicions, right?" Remus paused, considering. "Because that's what would happen if your parchment went up in flames."

Hurriedly, James hugged his report close and shook his head. "No, that's fine. I'll be quiet now. Not a word. Not even a sigh. Not so much as…"

Remus narrowed his eyes, and James closed his mouth.

"Thank you," Peter muttered under his breath. James threw him a dirty look, but Peter was too busy frowning at the photographed gramaphone record to notice.

* * *

Lily came into the common room at ten past nine, after the Map had shown her in the Library for nearly two hours. Minutes earlier, James had managed to finish his half of the report. He'd also written half of his paper for Charms, and three quarters of his essay for Defence Against the Dark Arts. A productive evening, all things considered.

James waited until she met his eyes, then pointed at a table that was as far away from Sirius, Remus and Peter as possible without coming across as a challenge to Sirius. She nodded and moved toward it while James gathered his things. "Leaving us so soon, Prongs?" Remus asked.

"The fair lady awaits," Peter said.

Sirius stopped shuffling his cards around and glanced at Lily. Grinning, he tilted his head back for a better view of James' face. "Want me to be your second? If she kills you, I promise to plant a nice bush of lilies on your grave."

"Lilies don't grow in bushes," Remus said absently.

"You don't say." Sirius widened his eyes in mock surprise, leaning closer to Remus as if waiting for him to continue. James was quite sure he only wanted to get a look at Remus' cards, and if the way Remus folded them up and hid them against his chest was any indication, Remus agreed.

"Forget it, Sirius. I spent the last two minutes flattering these cards into loving me. They're mine in every sense of the word."

Sirius raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Why is it that everyone likes Remus better?" he asked the ceiling.

Alice, who'd agreed to come to the team practice on Tuesday, was on her way to the girls' dorm. "Probably because his ego is average-sized," she said in passing.

"Hey!" Sirius said. He twisted around, and Remus used the opportunity to study the cards in Sirius' hand. James quickly left to join Lily, dropping his report on the table before choosing the chair opposite her. Fortunately, the position also allowed him to keep an eye on his three friends. At the moment, Sirius seemed to berate Remus for cheating while Peter twisted left and right to get a better look at both their hands, keeping his own safely out of sight. Clever, that.

Lily followed the direction of his gaze. "Do they all cheat? Or just Peter?"

"All." James grinned, partly because Remus had caught Peter looking, partly because for the moment, Sirius was too distracted to embarrass him in front of Lily. "Remus analyses, Peter bluffs, Sirius goes with his instincts, and on top of that, they all cheat. Me, I just cheat."

"Sounds like fun." Lily's voice was dry.

James threw her a challenging smile. "What, think you could do better?"

Her shoulders lifted in a delicate shrug. She turned back to the table between them, reaching into her bag for her half of the report. The writing on the parchment was curved and smooth, elegant descenders to the g's and y's making James' work appear sloppy and disjointed in comparison, his letters veering in three directions at once.

Lily unrolled the scroll to reveal the whole length of text. She pointed at an item halfway down the page. "Here, the point 'Prefects.' I wrote down that we haven't had any problems so far." She looked to him for confirmation.

He nodded. "Only a matter of time, though. Actually, I'm surprised Snape has kept quiet so far."

"Definitely." A chuckle that combined humour with sarcasm. "He can't have been any more delighted at Dumbledore's choice than I was. And you've only been a Prefect since, when? May?"

"End of April," James corrected. Since Remus had resigned, to be more precise. "And I'm _trying_, Evans, all right?"

Lily studied him carefully, then turned back to her report without another comment. James forced himself to loosen his grip on his quill. "I was thinking," Lily said, "about scheduling a Prefects meeting for Friday, after dinner. The meeting on the train was pretty basic. We can work out plans for the rounds and other things until then, and you can look up some curses for your confrontation with Snape."

"Make it Thursday," James said, choosing not to rise to the bait. "The Ravenclaws have the Quidditch pitch booked for Friday, and Frank's on the team."

"Frank?"

"Ravenclaw Prefect, Seventh year."

"Oh, you mean Frank Longbottom? I didn't know he played." A pause. "Okay, then Thursday." She shooed some of the paragraphs on her parchment down, then wrote the new information into the gap. The quiet scratching of her quill was interrupted by a triumphant shout from the table where Sirius, Remus and Peter sat, and James looked over to find Remus smiling victoriously. To James' surprise, Sirius was grinning very slightly, but rearranged his expression into a scowl the moment Remus' eyes turned to look at him.

Sirius was known as one of the worst losers to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. Huh.

James squinted, but even under close scrutiny, Sirius' face revealed nothing else. Somehow, James felt as if he'd just seen something important, something that maybe, just maybe could help to ease the careful tension that still existed between Remus and Sirius, that reflected on James and Peter, too. Maybe they could…

"_Potter_." The emphasis Lily put on his name showed that it wasn't the first time she'd called it. Startled, James focused on her.

"Sorry, yeah?"

For a few seconds, silence stretched between them. Then she tilted her head, suddenly focused on him with an intensity that James could feel like a physical weight, sending a flash of shivering excitement down his back. "Something wrong?"

James lowered his gaze down to his hands. Dirt from this morning's Herbology class was still left under his fingernails, and he tried to get it out without looking at Lily. "What should be?" he asked.

"How would _I_ know?" Lily threw his question back at him, and if she'd noticed that he hadn't answered, she didn't show it. Instead, she rolled up her report and reached across the table for James' half, her eyes skimming over the text.

James exhaled carefully, then leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs at the ankles. "Why do you care?" He hoped he didn't sound ungrateful or challenging because he was really just curious and maybe filled with the stirrings of something that might very well be hope. Timid hope. Hope that regarded itself with a raised eyebrow, as if wondering what it was even doing here.

"I don't," Lily said, still reading over James' report. With a cheerful wave, the hope faded back into obscurity.

"Oh," James said. "All right. Okay."

She glanced up with something that could pass as a smile. "Actually, you looked sort of morose. I guess the rare sight threw me. Also, while Snape washing his hair might be a special occurrence," the smile was more pronounced now, "I don't think it's quite what McGonagall meant."

"Sirius suggested it." James shrugged. "Sounded noteworthy to me."

"How come you hate him so much?"

"Sirius?" he asked, surprised.

Lily gave him a look that was an insult to his intelligence. "Snape."

"Oh, I don't know," James said, making a show of faking thoughtfulness. "Maybe because he seems to constantly follow us around, trying to find ways to get us expelled? Or because he's so proud of being a Slytherin he probably congratulates himself daily on being sorted into it? Or," he raised a finger, as if the idea had just occurred to him, "maybe it's because he's a slimy git who's nose-deep into dark magic?"

"All right, all right." Lily raised both hands. "I get it. I just don't get why it's the four of you, and _Snape_. Well, Black and you, and Snape, mostly. If Black walked out on his family, shouldn't it be Regulus or Bellatrix Black? Or Narcissa Cameron, I thought she was a cousin of Black's or something like that. And it's not as if either of them is any better than Snape."

James had to admit that she did have a point. It was just that Snape was so… so _Snape_. Regulus was filled with hate he'd inherited from his and Sirius' parents, despicable for his beliefs and the actions that came with them. Bellatrix was cruel and enjoyed having power over those around her. With Snape, it was some of that, and more, and less.

"Aren't there some people who just, you know…" James trailed off in search of a verbalisation that would fit. "People who just rub you in the wrong way? Everything they do, everything they say, everything they are, it's like…" Another pause while Lily watched him expectantly. "Like a constant itch that you just feel you have to scratch?"

"An itch?" Lily gave him an edged smile. "Oh yes, I know people like that."

"Thanks," James muttered.

She laughed, then turned serious once more. "Well, anyway. You'll have to learn to deal with him, Potter. He _is_ a Slytherin Prefect, and I wouldn't count on him to resign in protest because they made you Head Boy."

"Why are you telling _me_? He starts it at least half the time, Evans." And since April, Snape had been even more determined in his efforts to get James in trouble; provoking him, dropping dark hints about Remus, accusing Sirius of attempted murder.

"As unbelievable as it sounds," Lily rolled James' report up and pushed it across the table, "I'm actually hoping for you to show that you _can_ act your age, if you have to. Somehow, I doubt Snape would react well if I asked him."

James grinned, stretching luxuriously. His chair creaked with the movement. "So you think I'm mature enough to keep the peace, do you?"

"You broke it, you fix it," Lily returned evenly. "And besides, the keyword is 'hope.'"

"Who says that I started it?" James protested. "Why not Snape? Or Sirius?"

Lily tapped her fingers on the table: index, middle, ring. "Because you're you, Potter. And because Snape may be willing to carry on a feud, but neither confident nor arrogant enough to start it himself. Black wouldn't have picked Snape, but one of his relatives, and Remus and Peter aren't even a possibility."

"Whatever," James said. He found himself glaring at her hand and quickly averted his eyes. It didn't matter anyway.

It didn't.

* * *

Much gratitude to those who reviewed the first chapter: BlueRazberry, Jewels (thanks for the hint!), my fellow LJ-er Lierian, Ruinsul (what kind of summary would you have preferred? because I freely admit to not being all that good at writing them.), fictionalcandie, Millia, Diabla666 and JadeGreen14. I'd add more personal notes, but it would clutter up the page and distract from the story, so I'll leave it at a heartfelt "thank you very much!" 


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